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Andrew Mayne - Three Steps To Dramatic Magic PDF
Andrew Mayne - Three Steps To Dramatic Magic PDF
DRAMATIC MAGIC
Andrew Mayne
A magic effect without a plot is just a trick or a gag. Those kind of effects
can be fine by themselves sometimes. But there’s no reason why you can’t take
a trick and make it into something more powerful - something more entertaining.
The climax of the effect builds as the magician tries to identify the card without
the help of his original magic scheme. He can rattle off names of various cards
and all sorts of pseudo explanations (Your card is a Ten of Diamonds because
you have ten fingers and are married. No? You don’t have ten fingers?). The
more desperate it looks, the more rocks being thrown at him.
After a certain amount of tension is built, it’s time to resolve the situation. You
can either choose a purely dramatic resolution or a comedic one. A dramatic
resolution would have you identify the card by employing some scheme involving
psychology or mind reading. A comedic one could be as simple as pulling a
giant version of their card from your pocket or from an envelope under their seat.
From our example you can see that creating dramatic magic doesn’t require an
award-winning playwright. All it requires is an understanding of what entertains
us. Strong stories require an element of surprise. You can introduce the
element by looking at it from the audience’s perspective and then imagining
where things can appear to go off track.
Here are three steps to creating dramatic magic:
#1 Change expectations
Ask yourself what the audience’s expectations are at any given moment. What
can you do to change those expectations?
• An error occurs through miscommunication
• An error occurs through prop malfunction
#2 Build tension
What can you do to build tension? Is there a way you can make the outcome
appear to be in doubt?
• Your quick fix doesn’t work
• Your resolution is incomplete
This method works with other effects besides card tricks. You can scale it up to
illusions as well. Let’s use the classic Sawing a Woman in Half effect as an
example. The challenging part about this effect is the fact that the amazing part
happens right away. Once the woman is cut in half, the rest is just an
entertaining dénouement. The way to twist this effect and change an audience’s
expectation, is to present it as something else. What if you told the audience you
were going to pass a saw blade harmlessly through your assistant? After you
saw through his or her body (there’s no reason why your stagehand can’t be a
victim) you prepare to show that they are still intact and unharmed. In the
process of opening the boxes you accidentally push the boxes apart and divide
your assistant in half. The separation becomes more dramatic when it’s not
expected. My personal choice would be to end the trick right there and just push
the boxes offstage in different directions. Everything else is anti-climactic.
Look closely at what the audience thinks is going to happen and find a way
to change that to uncertainty. Avoid confusing them. They should know
what the problem is, but not the resolution. As a magician, your job is to
create a resolution that is both surprising and magical.